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Gobble-de-Gook
Gobble-de-Gook is a confederation of tribes throughout the Victoria and one of the largest tribal groups in the Bass Strait. Originally formed to prevent encroaching settlers from Williamstown and railway men from Victorian Railways taking their land, the tribals have fought numerous raids and even one large-scale, four-year-long war against the railers and their allies. Despite this, the tribals still haven't yet achieved their aims. As of 2287, Stevo Spritz, the current elected leader, is currently mustering his forces. History Tribals had inhabited much of Victoria since the Great War. Wide open plains, distant yet reliant towns and the widespread presence of Brumbies allowed a migratory, tribal culture to develop rapidly. By the 2100s, the sedimentary, town-based society that existed before the war was found only in tribal stories. The migratory tribal was born again in the plains of Victoria. Tribals ruled the plains and national parks outside the major towns. Numerous groups developed with colourful names one would expect - the Boxers, Bendigone, Fishy-Fishy, Stringy Meat, and so on. Of course, among these Post-War developments were the pre-existing tribes of Aboriginal Australians, crowded onto reservations before the war, far away from the important centres. Years of borderline ethnic cleansing had annihilated their way of life, yet 60,000 years of continuous culture is hard to destroy. When the war happened, the Aboriginal people had a chance to return to their traditional homes. Over time, these tribal groups merged into semi-sedentary groups amongst the wasteland, hunting and foraging around the wastes. To say these groups lived in harmony would be incorrect, but an equilibrium existed between the migratory and semi-sedentary tribes. Relations weren't friendly and raiding and petty wars were common, but alliances and trade were also common. This pattern was maintained from Bendigo to the Yarra Ranges until the Williamstown settlers and Victorian Railways merchants began to expand outwards. The Skirmishing Stage The booming economy of Williamstown in the 2170s set off a train reaction around the post-war Victoria. Economic prosperity in Williamstown saw not only a population boom within the city but massively increased profits amongst the Victorian Railways merchants. Flush with cash, both factions began to expand out of their traditional homes. Settlers breached out from the Pre-War boundaries of Melbourne and into the territories of the tribals. VR, always seeking new markets, began to refurbish the rail line out towards Shepparton. Originally, this did little against the tribals. The settlers were little more than homesteads and their farms were small and petty. However, with time the encroachments grew more and more impactful. In the 2180s, settlers shot at and killed the Cup tribe's chief, sparking a brief war only stopped by the arrival of heavily armoured troops from Williamstown. When the Shepparton Line renovation was finished in 2203, VR trains passing through had to be heavily armed to scare off raiding riders. For the semi-sedimentary Aboriginal groups, the encroaching settlers had a great impact. Clearing away the reliable foraging locations for farming, the settlers starved the tribes, albeit unintentionally. The migratory tribes could simply ride away to the better forage; for the Aboriginal nations, it wasn't as easy. Populations declined and violence rose. Tribes had two options: become migratory or become raiders. Many Aboriginal people, angry at the loss of their land, turned to raiding. Through the first quarter of the 23rd century, violence and anti-settler opinion grew among the tribes. While some form of united front was originally proposed in the late 22nd century, the 2230s saw the idea of presented more and more favourably. Was it not better, many tribal leaders wondered, to throw these invaders out together? In March 2236, Azza Luntz of Bendigone sent a message to the other tribal leaders to meet at Naggie Pond, in between Williamstown and Shepparton. The Primary Clash In late April 2236, Luntz brought the disparate tribal leaders together. Making sure to invite those most heavily impacted by the Southerners, Luntz proposed a collective opposition - raiding farms, storming trains, plundering all while taking back their land. The Aboriginal nations agreed almost on the spot, as they had been most heavily hit. The migratory tribes took more convincing but the promise of railway plunder turned them to the idea. By May, the Gobble-de-Gook had been born. Almost immediately, better results were seen. Raids and skirmishes throughout May, June and July saw many tribes beating all but the toughest soldiers in head-on battle. Raids on the railways saw tribes flush with wealth. By August, Aboriginal nations had reclaimed their traditional forage lands, territory they hadn't occupied since the turn of the century. All seemed to be looking up for the downtrodden tribes. No success lasts forever. Gobble-de-Gook aims were short-sighted and did nothing to address the root of their problems. When Luntz and the other tribal leaders forced the settlers out of their farms, they merely angered the mighty industrial giant that is Williamstown. When the tribals derailed a train, Victorian Railways simply up-armoured and up-gunned the next. Victories became more and more pyrrhic. By April 2237, Williamstown and Victorian Railways (with support from Eureka) launched an all-out offensive on the confederacy. Heavily armed Williamstown soldiers mounted up in sturdy rail cars acted like post-apocalyptic laagers. Within the first 6 months of retaliation, the Southerners had killed nearly 20% of the Gobble-de-Gook tribals. These losses struck the tribals heavily. When Luntz was killed in March 2238, it seemed like the end of the faction. In a tribal council late in March, panic ruled supreme. The nomads talked of taking their horses and fleeing to New South Wales. The Aboriginal nations wondered aloud of how dangerous opening talks with the railers would be. It seemed like the end of tribal resistance. Until, of course, a fragmentation grenade was set off amongst the Aboriginal leaders. Smoking Trees had earned a reputation during the earlier raids as being highly effective. Her reputation preceded her; numerous tribal wars won, dozens of raids undertaken, and a personal body count numbering in the hundreds. Rallying the remaining tribal leaders through sheer brutality and force of will, Smoking began the second wave of assault on Southerner positions. Under Smoking, Gobble-de-Gook turned to even more primitive harassing attacks. Sabotaging railway tracks, burning farms, massacring settlers were they stood. Explosives were left on rail tracks. Men, women and children were shot dead en mass and dumped in open-air mass graves. The Southerners, previously assured of victory, were shocked at how quickly the conflict had stemmed into brutality. Angered, they responded in kind. The war became a bloodbath, packed with little more than continuous brutality. Secondary Clash War, ultimately, is a battle of economies, and the industrialised and mercantile Southerners ultimate came out on top. This bloody conflict ultimately ended in 2241, when Smoking Trees was killed by Californians. The Aboriginal nations, having dropped out of the conflict in 2238, were left, primarily, untouched. The migratory tribes which had continued to fight were steadily pushed further and further back. Smoking's brutality had left many leaders opposed to further combined actions. By June 2241, Gobble-de-Gook was almost a curse among Victorians. For the next 35 years, the arrangement established between the tribes and Southerners remained, albeit with great discomfort on both sides. The Williamstown settlers wanted to expand further and farm more land, while the tribals were unhappy with their land still being owned by others. Despite this, the knowledge and memory of the great losses of the last conflict prevented any large amounts of violence appearing. With the raising of a new generation, this understanding of the loss involved in the conflict slipped away in favour of revanchism on both sides. Throughout the 2280s, Williamstown settlers appealed to the government back home for military aid. Many tribal chiefs became more and more willing to reunite against these settlers. In 2284, the Gobble-de-Gook confederacy was reunited under Stevo Spritz, a minor tribal chief from the Yarra Ranges. As off 2287, he has united many of the former tribes, most importantly the Bendigone, through diplomacy and persuasion. Government Gobble-de-Gook is, first and foremost, a disparate collection of tribals, linked solely in hate for VR and Williamstown. Leaders of the confederation are elected in a rough, tribal democracy. Leaders are either the strongest or the leader of the strongest group within Gobble-de-Gook. In the history of the faction, just three leaders have come to power; Azza Luntz, a well-respected guerrilla warrior; Smoking Trees, an Australian Legate Lanius, known only for her brutality in combat; and Stevo Spritz, the current leader, a well-known hunter and leader of something similar to a miniaturised Legion. While the elected leader is supposed to have ultimate authority in regards to the opposition of encroaching southern forces, only Smoking Trees ever capitalised on this fully and her leadership all but ended Gobble-de-Gook for 10 years. For Luntz and Spritz, operating effectively has required cultivating and courting the various factions within Gobble-de-Gook. The 'Old' Blood A loose group within a looser group, the 'Old' blood of Gobble-de-Gook is the Aboriginal nations which have regrown through Victoria since the War. These nations - while independent and separate from one another - have a similar cultural background, a shared history and a common semi-migratory lifestyle. As such, when Gobble-de-Gook must fight, the Aboriginal groups will stick together better with one another than the 'New' blood. The 'New' Blood An even broader heading than the Old blood, the New blood of Gobble-de-Gook include all tribes which developed after the war. Unlike the Old Blood, little binds them together - they fight different, act different, and have a different history. Still, in a reaction to the combining of the Old Blood, the New Blood can be trusted to support one another first of all. Bendigone Bendigone is one of the key New Blood tribes and so influential as to be deserving of a new heading. Bendigone consists entirely of Brumbie-mounted warriors firing all manner of ranged weapon from horseback. In the Post-War Victorian plains, they are the closest analogy to the Mongolians of the Middle Ages. Relations Gobble-de-Gook is entirely a reactionary faction. They do not exist to create something larger or more significant than before, but simply to maintain their tribal independence against encroaching powers. As such, most of their interactions with other factions are hostile, as the tribals defend their land against all incoming threats. Williamstown and Victorian Railways Williamstown and Victorian Railways are the reason the Gobble-de-Gook confederacy even exist. Their encroachment on tribal land set off the train of events leading to the numerous wars and minor conflicts between the two factions. Even in 2287, raids are still a constant worry for Williamstown settlers or under-armed VR trains. Eureka Eureka holds a difficult position within the Gobble-de-Gook faction. While their initial interactions with the town were simply with the Californian faction (little more than better-supplied raiders for Victorian Railways), the town has lost all of their fangs since the Gobble-de-Gook stormed the place in 2243. In 2287, Eureka has done nothing to re-antagonise the tribals and, as such, remains off their metaphorical hit-list. Technology Gobble-de-Gook are tribals through and through. However, this doesn't prevent them from being technologically advanced - after all, the New Canaanites are a tribe. Amongst the various tribes included in the confederacy, a sharp-eyed military man can find anything from homemade bows to advanced Pre-War arms. Some tribal leaders even use energy weapons! In regards to civil technology, Gobble-de-Gook is again a disparate band. Some factions, like Woi Wurrong Aboriginals, rival Flounders Island in regards to their civil engineering. On the other end of the spectrum, many of the migratory tribes no little other than the basics of animal husbandry and foraging. Again, the confederacy's disparate members create a massive difference in technological levels. Category:Victoria Category:Groups Category:Raiders Category:Tribals